The Emericellipsins A-E from an Alkalophilic Fungus Show Potent Activity against Multidrug-Resistant Pathogenic Fungi.

Novel antimicrobial peptides with antifungal and cytotoxic activity were derived from the alkalophilic fungus VKPM F1428. We previously reported that this strain produced emericellipsin A (EmiA), which has strong antifungal and cytotoxic properties. Further analyses of the metabolites obtained under a special alkaline medium resulted in the isolation of four new homologous (Emi B-E). In this work, we report the complete primary structure and detailed biological activity for the newly synthesized nonribosomal antimicrobial peptides called emericellipsins B-E. The inhibitory activity of themajor compound, EmiA, against drug-resistant pathogenic fungi was similar to that of amphotericin B (AmpB). At the same time, EmiA had no hemolytic activity towards human erythrocytes. In addition, EmiA demonstrated low cytotoxic activity towards the normal HPF line, but possessed cancer selectivity to the K-562 and HCT-116 cell lines. Emericillipsins from the alkalophilic fungus are promising treatment alternatives to licensed antifungal drugs for invasive mycosis therapy, especially for multidrug-resistant aspergillosis and cryptococcosis.